I'm a C/C++ programmer with a decent level of experience, and my only other programming background is with GDScript in Godot. I have no web development experience at all. I'm gearing up for a hackathon that kicks off in a month and lasts for 3 days, and I'm trying to decide on a web development tech stack that I can learn quickly to create a functional web app. I know it might be a stretch to become proficient in such a short time, but I want to choose tools that will make me serviceable during the event. What do you recommend?
2 Answers
It also depends on whether you’re working solo or with a team. If you go solo, focus on just HTML and CSS to showcase your project, then add JavaScript for interactivity, especially with the DOM and Fetch API. For learning, check out MDN and web.dev/learn for solid resources. HTML and CSS are quick to pick up, and for JavaScript, you might like 'Exploring JS' by Dr. Axel Rauschmayer – it’s free online and great for existing programmers. If you want to venture into the backend, you could technically leverage C/C++, but that might limit your options for dynamic web features.
You'll definitely want to get a grasp on the basics of HTML and CSS along with some JavaScript. A good starter stack could be HTML/CSS with Python and Django if you're comfortable with Python, as it has a straightforward template system. Alternatively, consider using HTML/CSS with JavaScript alongside frameworks like React or Express. Some folks go with Firebase or Supabase for backend functionalities since they handle things like authentication and database management quite easily, which can save you time at a hackathon. It's all about making good choices and being efficient!
I feel like using C/C++ really depends on the problem we get assigned and who I’ll be teamed up with. That’s why I’m hesitant to just focus on frontend stuff.